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Today in the USA people from corner to corner sat around table’s big and small enjoying family and friends and good eats. Up here in Canada we did this in October which is equally as fun, though I will say the emphasis seems to be a lot more on family and friends than on the sales the day after. I mean, I get wanting to save money but there is more to this day than the sale on Friday.

They say that Thanksgiving was started with Pilgrims and Indians and all of that Jazz but really, from my perspective as a Christian, I see Thanksgiving beginning at that famous table that da Vinci painted of the last supper. Where Jesus and friends are passing bread and sharing wine. Where the Bible tells us about the upcoming crucifixion and the prophesies that will be fulfilled.

Jesus gave thanks. He sat or stood or did whatever Jesus did and He gave thanks to God the Father, teaching us to give thanks in all things, in all ways, always.

I would love to see more Jesus around the table and less shopping. And any shopping to be done with Jesus in mind. How about supporting Compassion, World Vision, Gospel for Asia, shopping fair trade and supporting the stay at home mama’s who are working from home with their home businesses. Like myself, Plexus is an awesome product that has given people health back, then we have the wonderful Mama’s (and wives) who are selling Avon, Scentsy and so many other amazing and GREAT products that support the seller instead of the billionaire chain store.

Did you know that for 30 dollars you can give medication to 10 children who are at risk of dying from preventable diseases? Did you know that for a couple hundred dollars you could buy livestock for a family so they can not only eat but make money? Did you know that while we sip on coffee and eggnog and all sorts of beverages there are millions of people who are dying, literally -for a single sip of something safe?

So let’s take our Thanks and GIVE because we need to be giving in order to truly receive the bounty of the Holy Spirit. All because Jesus mindfully spoke words of thanks around that table all those years ago!

I never expected to be writing about self-confidence, but you know what? I feel confident in myself. That says a lot coming from where I have and the only things that have really changed in my life are my faith, and the added blessing of Plexus products. You see, a little over a year ago I didn’t expect to even survive to see the New Year. I was sick all of the time and sleeping close 20+ hours a day and always felt exhausted.

I was broken down physically from infections and kidney stones, UTI’s, pneumonia that just kept coming and of course my PTSD.

Flashback to when I was 17. I was a new mom and met a lovely and loving Mennonite family. They were always gracious and so sweet and I really enjoyed getting to know them and getting to know God as seen through their eyes. I was in an extremely abusive relationship which you can read about in some of my other posts and most of that abuse was justified through biblical teachings. So, this family was in a lot of ways, a ray of hope. I had no clue what purpose they would serve in my life but I knew it was going to be awesome.

Then at 19 I had my son and one of their daughters was training to be a midwife and I was having a homebirth so we asked her if she would like to join in. I thought maybe that was what this friendship was leading to, helping her get her education so she could follow what God had placed on her heart and help mama’s.

Then, last year when I was 29, a full ten years after I had really had more than much Facebook interaction with these old friends (and of course the grocery store!) and I was feeling really sick the oldest daughter, Shelly, began to post about her own health and the struggles she had been having. She was quickly becoming the granola mom who was coming up with insane sounding recipes with two hundred steps and I wondered how she was doing it all with 3 littles and one on the way. I didn’t know she wasn’t feeling well most days either. I didn’t know that she was doing all of this “crazy” cooking in an effort to feel better and the research she was doing was for her own health.

Then, she started to post about Plexus products which she had begun to take while pregnant. She was talking about less pain, good sleep, her worst pregnancy quickly becoming her BEST pregnancy and so much other good stuff. I wanted to order but figured there was really no hope for my health. She couldn’t have felt as bad as I did, no one could.

Then, I saw her mom post that she had started using the products and I knew that these were male led households based on the Biblical teachings and I watched and kept reading testimonies of more and more family members starting to use and LOVE Plexus. I realized that they wouldn’t be buying products that their hubby’s didn’t think had an impact on their health. So, I finally placed and order and gave it a try.

The very first week I was no longer sleeping all day every day. I wasn’t exhausted. My pain levels were lower. My anxiety better. My IBS (which I didn’t even really know could be helped) was GONE and in general I was feeling great. I didn’t believe that the products were working though. I figured it had to be some sort of mental fluke of mind over matter.

A year later though I have lost over 30lbs, I am still feeling well, my IBS is still controlled. I haven’t had any chest/lung infections, I haven’t had any UTI’s or kidney stones. My hair and nails are growing super –fast and my skin feels and looks better than it ever has. No more tangles because there isn’t any more breakage, at least not like there used to be!

As a result my confidence has boosted. I feel healthy and I know that my health is why God placed these lovely people into my life over a decade ago. I wouldn’t have ever tried Plexus products had I heard it from someone else, but their faith gave me hope and it just felt right.

Being so much healthier means I am not feeling like I need to change. I am glad to go out without makeup. I wear my hair in a ponytail. I no longer feel like I have to dye it. I can eat whatever I want without it making me sick. I can drive my kids to Youth group and to school trips and take care of 2 dogs, my aquarium and my bird.

My back is sore. I have degenerative disc disease. When I wake up in the morning I am normally very stiff and sore. Pain often wakes me up in the morning. Yet I faithfully get up and drink my pink drink and within about 20 minutes my pain levels and stiffness are gone for a large portion of the day. Meaning, I don’t have to put so much poison into my body to keep the pain from disc disease and arthritis away. A pink drink called Plexus Slim has given me my life back –literally and I am completely amazed by how God orchestrated it ALL!

I am confident that I will stay healthy and continue to see results. I am confident in being me. I am confident that God had a plan, and continues to have a plan for me every single day.

Plexus is confident too!! All Customers automatically receive a 60 day money back guarantee! This month get free shipping.In Canada? Free Shipping and NO TAX!

It’s been just over a year since I started taking Plexus products. A friend who I knew a decade ago and was living at home with her family started talking about these awesome products and how they were helping her through her “worst pregnancy ever” and how it became her “best pregnancy” once she started drinking a “pink drink” each day. While I was excited for her and the results she was seeing, a better pregnancy, improved IBS, no more pain, better sleep, more energy during the day, less naps, and so much more, I simply thought that it wouldn’t work for me, because nothing before had.

After her pregnancy, which was her 4th baby she was excited to share that she was able to continue to nurse her baby without having to supplement unlike all of her previous pregnancies and she was only ten pounds from her pre-pregnancy weight.

Then, I saw that her sister who is a Midwife, and who assisted in delivering my son, was using these products too, and then her mom and even her children! My interest was more than peaked. I was at a point where I literally felt like I wouldn’t live to see the new year and I was only 29 years old. So when I saw that this Mennonite family was spending the money on these products, sharing such intimate results with others and getting help with problems I had I figured I had nothing to lose by trying them.

So nearing the end of September of 2014 I placed my first Plexus order. My friend said if I ordered the pink drink AKA the Plexus Slim and the BioCleanse for gut health she would send me a free bottle of Probio5 from her own stash.

I received the products ordered from Plexus first and began taking them and called myself the “Plexus skeptic”. After all, year and YEARS of testing, medications, therapy, exercise… and the list goes on, with nothing helping me I really didn’t expect a plant based product line to do me any good. I felt beyond repair.

On September 26th I started taking the products. Here is what I said

Day 1 – The Plexus Skeptic
I placed my order earlier this month from Shelly’s plexus page and even with seeing all the results and testimonials I have my doubts that this will help me. However, I thought I should keep a little diary just in case it works.

I started the Slim and the BioCleanse today and was expecting my body to go full on angry with IBS symptoms and heart burn or some nasty taste in my mouth. It’s been several hours since I took it and I have had no tummy issues whatsoever which really shocked me because my system seems to hate everything these days.

The “pink drink” tastes like cherry coolaid and maybe a bit of fruit punch. It was much tastier than I had expected because Plexus doesn’t have a flavor written on this product. I definitely can see myself drinking this every day!

The Bio Cleanse also surprised me. While I have only had one dose I can’t advocate for any of these products working or not but again this hasn’t upset my stomach either. Normally with any type of capsule the plastic/chemical smell makes me nauseous when I open the bottle. I was expecting there to be that strong odor and I stuck my nose right in the bottle and it smelled like AIR. I even had my mom smell it to be sure I didn’t have a broken nose or something. So I was able to take them without gagging from smell or taste.

So far so good.

The next day I wrote

Day 2 – The Plexus Skeptic

Yesterday I drank all the water recommended. Considering I am not a water drinker that alone is a huge change. Drank the Slim again this morning when I woke up and took the BioCleanse.

Was fully expecting to be sick because I once again have a migraine but I can happily say that I have not had any tummy troubles like I do to pretty much everything else. Weighed myself yesterday and then today (I weigh myself every day, its torture) and I was surprised to see that I was down 1.6 lbs. Not sure if that is Plexus or normal fluctuation. We will see.

So far I am happy!

Oh, and not sure if this was a Plexus thing or just a weird day but last night when I normally snack I didn’t crave anything salty and I went for the chocolate covered almonds, which I only had 3 of and my night craving was gone.

After that I was no longer a skeptic. In the first week I lost weight and inches, my IBS was GONE, I could eat and drink dairy, I was sleeping, my cravings were gone, my snacking was gone, I was awake and I had energy during the day. I felt good for the first time in years.

By Christmas of 2014 I was done with 6 valium a day and off of one anti-depressant, for the first time since 2007. Since then I have lost over 30lbs and kept it off, I have earned money on products I ordered, my mom has been taking the products because she was amazed by the difference in ME, my pain levels are much more easily controlled even with an RA and Degenerative Disc disease diagnosis, I haven’t had a single flu or infection and sooo much more!

The best part though? I feel alive again. I went years feeling like I was merely co-existing in a world in which I didn’t belong. There were MANY times I begged God to take me home, I cried out to Him asking why I was still here. I don’t feel like that anymore. Every day is a new challenge and a new adventure.

I am excited to see how Plexus continues to work in me over the next year and I would love to talk to you more about it! Women who have had infertility from PCOS and other issues have become pregnant with Plexus and carried healthy full term babies, men have got on board and us Plexus people have a slogan saying “Real men don’t wear pink, they DRINK it”.

So many people are free of heart meds, cholesterol meds, thyroid meds, no longer suffering from lyme disease and its symptoms, having less flare ups in autoimmune diseases or complete remission.

It truly is AMAZING how something natural and plant based can heal us from the inside in such profound ways! Want to do your own research for your own symptoms? Google your issue + leaky gut and be amazed by how even mental illness is being affected by poor gut health!

Last year I kept a gratitude journal and wore the bracelet marked “eucharisteo” on my wrist every single day as a reminder to be thankful for everything, big or small. My list grew and grew some more. By the end of the year I was at over 3000 gifts; that was three times more than I had planned to count.

This year I had set the goal again for 1000 gifts. It is doable, I know it is because I surpassed that goal last year. Yet somewhere along the road I fell into this crevice that stole me away from recognizing God’s gifts, the ones He lays out before me every single day. I was no longer seeing them and no longer counting what I was seeing.

I can’t really pinpoint what distracted me, it’s not like I suddenly didn’t have time to count the gifts, its that I didn’t have the motivation. I began to feel like I was in the world of the “lost” and had no clue if I would ever be “found”.

Then on June 22nd I read in my Jesus Calling devotional by Sarah Young:

“Thanking Me for trials will feel awkward and contrived at first. But if you persist, your thankful words, prayed in faith, will eventually make a difference in your heart. Thankfulness awakens you to My Presence, which overshadows all your problems.”

I wasn’t able to move past that day. I have read it every day since, and it is now July 9th. That page still bookmarked by the silver single faced ribbon page marker.

Then yesterday while I was working on my Hello Mornings study of James I read James 1:2-4

“Count it all joy, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

My mind knew, right then and there why I hadn’t been able to move past the June 22nd devotional. I am not counting gifts and I need to be. I need to be giving God the glory in all things, in all ways, every single day. I need to say “thank you” to the Giver and allow Him to resurrect me from that dark crevice that had swallowed me down.

So, last night I picked up my pen and wrote down a few things I was grateful for and then I was able to drift right off to sleep, no nightmares, no restlessness, just peace.

Today is a new day though and I am thankful for so much.

Plexus products, helping me lose weight and be healthy for the first time in 13 years! I have a long way to go but I am grateful for every inch and every pound that has gone and for having my life returned to me by something that seems so simple!

My kids being healthy. My daughter has a flu right now and yet she is healthy. I have been watching a little boy named Lucas on Facebook near death receive a liver transplant from a little girl named Olivia who didn’t make it. I am blessed to be dealing with the flu and hormones and bickering instead of watching my child hooked up to a dozen machines and praying for a hail Mary.

Cool weather this week allowing us to sleep properly, save on power by being able to keep the air conditioning off, being able to spend time outside without feeling sick and so on… the cool weather brings in good times with the kids and options about what we eat and wear and how we sleep. I know the heat will come again and we will love that too, but this week has been great!

Coconut oil- yeah I know this one is weird but I am so grateful for coconut oil! I use it to mix my own pain rubs, as a moisturizer, as a conditioner for my hair and even to clean my makeup brushes! Plus, I use it for cooking too! I am so blessed that God allowed another of His daughters to introduce me to a healthy and holistic product!

The weather has been either cool as in frost or warm here the past week or so which means getting dressed each day has been difficult. Layers are my friend. I have also realized since purging more than half my wardrobe that I need a few things.

Tanks to wear under low dresses and t-shirts

Spring tops

Light weight cardigans

A couple more mid-length skirts

While that doesn’t sound like a lot, and I never purged any of these items, I am losing weight thanks to the help of Plexus products and I am between sizes, or I should say, I am different sizes depending on the fabric or brand.

Today I was able to wear a green top in a size large and a dark brown skirt in an XL. However, I tried on two dresses before that outfit, one in a L and one XL and neither fit me. I am confused about this “true to size” thing I hear about clothing all. the. time. Clearly there is no standard sizing and if I go buy a size chart I could be in a large or a 3x and I just tossed my 2x and 3x clothes because they were FALLING off. I don’t think anyone needs to see my bra strap and shoulder through the neck hole of a shirt, and I shouldn’t have to tie a skirt on and still worry about it falling off. So I am truly confused.

I have wanted a couple of pieces from the Deborah and Co online store for quite some time. They have a really cute mustard yellow shirt and a grey striped top paired together that I absolutely love but I have no clue if I need a L, XL or 2X as I have never tried their clothing before. I would also love a denim skirt from them, they are beautiful!

I did receive as part of the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle a free Deborah and Co infinity scarf which I am in LOVE with!! It is sooo soft and feminine and has been helping to hide that chest of mine that is in need of some tanks.

I would love to know where y’all shop and which clothes you find to be forgiving as far as size goes. Being on an extremely tight budget, especially considering these are clothes I may not need in the future as I continue to lose weight, is making it even more difficult. So is living in Canada. Some inexpensive places make generic clothing designer prices once they factor in shipping!

I am SOOO excited to share this! Over the last few months I have been doing a lot of card making and scrapbooking and buying new things and could never find exactly what I was looking for, or was finding what I wanted and hoarding it for “later” or the perfect project.

Well, I began to create my own journaling cards and my own papers to print out so that I could stop the hoard and have things I truly love. After quite a bit of activity about some pictures I had posted about the papers I have decided to make them available on Etsy as a download!

To sweeten the pot I have running through Monday a 50% off savings with coupon code NEW50 in celebration of my new store. It will be getting new papers, journaling cards and printables regularly and I am looking into adding other handmade items as well! I would love it if you could stop in and give it a like and show some love!

If you have an Etsy shop let me know in the comments and share your link so I can give you some love back!

Now, I never planned to start selling my designs because well, I like to have personal things, I also know I won’t get rich on Etsy but as a stay at home mom I know my family is costing my parents a lot (we live with them) and I am hoping to pay off debt and be able to help with their mortgage and household costs. It is definitely not something I expect to do completely with Etsy which is why I have begun selling Plexus products as well (and because I LOVE THEM) and I am really hoping we can keep our house and the stability my kids deserve.

I have considered starting up a gofundme account but it sort of feels selfish and I have been praying on it. With me collecting disability for post-traumatic stress disorder due to extreme domestic violence I am really in need of being able to support my family, from home.

Thank you dear friends for reading this through and for any love you can give! It means a lot more than you will ever know!

I haven’t felt much like writing lately. Actually, I haven’t felt like much of anything. I ate yesterday for the first time in a few days. I have a touch of a bug that had my sense of smell out of whack – even the bakery made me nauseous! {say what???}

Even though I am feeling crumby it is sort of a nice thing because I still don’t feel as bad as I did every single day before I started Plexus. So if this is me being sick I will take it! First year since 2007 that I haven’t had bronchitis or pneumonia with multiple rounds of antibiotics, no coughing until I was sick and no migraines causing me to hole up in a cement bunker without electricity or sound {okay, my basement with everything unplugged and shut off}.

So yeah, I am definitely excited about Plexus and how it has helped me. I also did my weigh in and I am down 26lbs. That is crazy. 26lbs that I had gained because of medications that I won’t ever see again and that have made my clothes fit looser and has inspired me to throw out some of my “fat” clothes even though I am only about a third of the way down in this weight loss goal. I know that tossing those clothes and filling my closet with pieces I LOVE is good for my mentality and is a process in itself of healing. I never thought that I would be the fat girl, but that’s what multiple pregnancies and years of abuse and dealing with the trauma did to me.

I am excited for what the future may hold. I would love to have another baby or two or three or whatever God decides to bless me with and for the first time in about 10 years I feel like I have the energy to do this mom thing and to carry a child within my womb and go through the labor of love to hold a tiny newborn in my arms. I had thought that because of my weight I wouldn’t be able to have more children and that was a sad dream to die, but now, I know that if it is God’s will I can take it on and I will be healthy enough for it all.

Lacking Words

In lacking words to write and things to say I have found myself being creative in other ways.

I have been doing some art again for the first time in several years, some in one of my Bibles which I never thought I would do and I actually prayed a lot about because I had seen some amazing Bible journaling and I felt like that would be an amazing way for me to get into the Word. So I prayed “Father, is it okay to write in my Bible?” I have a lot of deep theological conversations with God like that. He said “Yes! If it brings you closer to me and puts my Word in you then YES!”

Turns out my art skills are definitely in the “needs to be worked on” department but the fun thing about art is that all you have to do is create and be in His Word. He doesn’t expect perfection, He wants intention. My Bible is getting highlighted and painted in and draw on and even glued in and I am excited to be in the Word in a different way than normal.

I also bought a sketch pad and have been doing some bigger Bible art journaling in it, nothing fancy because I don’t have the resources to do fancy but again the intention is to spend time in the Word and I am doing just that.

Planner Girl

I recently discovered this crazy exciting way to express myself and make my journaling and listing more fun and that is through the Planner Girl community on Instagram and Youtube; Using scrapbooking supplies to be creative and to make my journal pages more fun.

I started today with an April challenge called Listers Gotta List and I enjoyed creating a pageabout where I am at right now and why. Again, my page wasn’t perfect or even really pretty but it had me use those much talked about Fringe Hours for myself to reflect and just simply enjoy. I feel much like a child cutting and pasting but those childlike moments are an awesome reprieve from the everyday ordinary, especially if the everyday is involving PTSD and pain.

I have been sure to put my prayer requests into my journal each day as well as my gratitude because I have found one thing to be true for me and that is if I pray and don’t acknowledge when God has answered and how thenI don’t pray so often because I am missing out on the fruit that he is giving me in His answers.

This past week I wrote down twice that I would like even just one day without my back hurting. So yesterday, when I didn’t need a single Tylenol I was full of Hallelujah’s! So often do we only see the hard things and overlook the good things, the good days. In doing so, we are missing out on God, because He is all that is good.

I am striving to see more God (good) and less Satan (bad). Today, my pain is there but not as bad as it was before. I know I am likely to have good days and bad but it is already 4pm and I am only now taking painkillers for the first time since waking up. God is good!

Born and raised in Kenora, Ontario Canada, Marisa was a teen mom who has overcome incredible circumstances in order to provide the best life she can for her small family. Avid reader, blogger and a God-loving Christian, are just a few of the titles Marisa holds. Reading the Word and learning about God and His plans for her life are her current mission.